Review: 10212 Imperial Shuttle

[Masked Builder]

I must admit that I like studs but what you've done looks great! I say cockpit floor next.

[cavegod]

Now you need to mod it to have a boarding ramp!

[Brickdoctor]

Without a doubt, you've got to fix TLG's mistake and add retractible landing gear. Any luck adding PF?

[Skafte]

Without a doubt, you've got to fix TLG's mistake and add retractible landing gear. Any luck adding PF?

Well no, I am absolutely poodoo at the PF thingies. I tried just having the motors on the outside to see if they were strong enough, but it all just exploded into a mess of gears, axles and technic bricks. I'm patiently waiting for someone to post a step by step walkthrough how to motorize the wings.

Same with the landing gear, that is a too big mod for my skills. Maybe a ramp, I'll look into it. Can it have tiles on it? Please?

Edited October 27, 2010 by Skafte

[Brickdoctor]

Well no, I am absolutely poodoo at the PF thingies. I tried just having the motors on the outside to see if they were strong enough, but it all just exploded into a mess of gears, axles and technic bricks. I'm patiently waiting for someone to post a step by step walkthrough how to motorize the wings.

Same with the landing gear, that is a too big mod for my skills. Maybe a ramp, I'll look into it. Can it have tiles on it? Please?

Ah. Maybe you could ask around in the Technic forum. I'm no help at PF, either.

[Cinderbike]

Bump! So did you ever manage to motorize the shuttle?

[Skafte]

Bump! So did you ever manage to motorize the shuttle?

No, I gave up. I'm waiting for a skilled Technic modder to post instructions. For now, the studless 10212 is in a toy shop window:

Edited December 8, 2010 by Skafte

[gotoAndLego]

I'm still fascinated by how the model balances securely on just two feet. One question though; the white "hull" pieces attached to the landing gear tend to pop off easily due to a little bending and flexing on the bottom. Is anyone else having this issue?

[andibandit]

The set looks nice, if i could just find it at a reasonable price here in denmark( its like 321.863 EUR). I can't understand why they made 4 instruction books for this.

[gotoAndLego]

...I can't understand why they made 4 instruction books for this.

The subsections that you are assembling, like the dorsal wing, are so large that one step takes up an entire page to display.

[Adam the Ant]

Some great mods here Just ordered this set, with £40 discount of VIP points. Now I just have to make room for it when it's built, looks like Tower Bridge will have to be dismantled.

[thorskywalker]

Can someone please tell me the dimensions of the box for this 10212 imperial shuttle set? I will buy it online and take it overseas as a present so I really need to know how much space it will occupy in my bag.. Some urgent reply is highly appreciated

may the force be with you all :)

[bockers]

Can't wait to get this along with Death Star this year

[harmacy]

Im considering buying this model after months of thinking about it... But hoping a current owner can help out with a question.

How big is this model when sitting on its landing gear (ie - wings up) - the blurb on Lego.com says 'Measures 28" (71 cm) tall on stand and 22" (57 cm) wide with wings deployed', but I need to know what the size is when its 'resting'.

Reason is, is that Ive managed to pick up some nice glass / aluminum display cabinets from a local shop that was being refurbished. Although I'd buy this model anyway, it would be nice to have it fit in a cabinet.

Cheers muchly.

[Brix]

Thanks for a fantastic review and pictures. I've already purchased this set and am waiting for it to arrive. I'm really looking forward to building it once it gets here.

[TheDarkness]

I know it has been awhile since this review come out but I must comment. My set arrived today, the box a bit busted up with seals popped, so I opened it to make sure everything was inside it. It was awesome to get onto this review and see one of the first pictures showing all the bags, so I was able to count them and make sure they were all there.

My better half looked at all the bags (and my children looked at them hungrily, wanting to rip them open and build) and all she could say is "How big is that one going to be?" :p

I cannot wait to get started, the review looks great for this awesome set. Now just to find the space to put it.

BTW did anyone end up motorising it?

[Aeroeza]

... BTW did anyone end up motorising it?

A chap called Skodyna reviewed 10212 on Brickset after motorizing it. This is what he had to say about the process...

I will not tell you how exactly put the motorization together, every builder have it's own way, but here is the list of parts essential for proper function:

2x M-motor 8883 (one is not strong enough to pull both wings up, XL-motor is too big)

3x Extension wire 8886 (the shuttle is quite large, you'll need that to reach the motors and the IR Receiver)

1x Lights 8870 (why not, you have the battery anyway and the landing lights on the floor are easily accessible)

1x IR Receiver 8884 + 1x IR Remote control 8885

1x Rechargeable battery 8878 + 1x Transformer 8887 (the normal battery box loses power too fast)

And don't forget you'll need a few white bricks, you will have to change the structure of the model a bit during the motorization.

Now get to work and have fun with squeezing all the things into the shuttle. Here are some final advices:

Try to plan things ahead and implement the power functions along with the progress of building, once the shuttle is finished, it's almost impossible to break it down or disassemble. Place both motors in the back and attach them to the gearing directly, without adding any more gears than there are. This operation requires pretty heavy interference into the infrastructure of the model, but is necessary in order to maintain the stunning look of the shuttle. Good luck with that! Control the motors separately, if you try to connect them with an axle, they will get stuck - each of them moves with different speed. Mind the space where landing gear should be attached, do not block it! Place the IR Receiver from below the model, it will work fine there and will not be seen easily.

He's

a good clip on YouTube of it in operation which also shows off some additional nifty features in integrating the mechanism with the original build. Impressive stuff!

[TheDarkness]

Thanks for that. It was an awesome modification and something I will consider before starting my build

[Lobot]

Thanks for that. It was an awesome modification and something I will consider before starting my build

It's really nice to build and looks superb (I finished mine a couple of days ago) but the top wing is very unstable and wobbles a lot! The only other things that disappointed me were i) the lack of a ramp and ii) my version appears to be cream rather than white (all of the photos I've seen show it as white, as does the box). However, it's definitely worth the money. Have fun building!

[loadinglevelone]

The only other things that disappointed me were my version appears to be cream rather than white (all of the photos I've seen show it as white, as does the box)

Yeah, i just received my shuttle aswell and the first thing that struck me was that the bricks weren't white at all.

Comparing the bricks to wiki color charts (yes, my monitor is calibrated), cream appears to be an accurate description of the actual color of the bricks.

Edited July 6, 2011 by loadinglevelone

[Aeroeza]

... my version appears to be cream rather than white (all of the photos I've seen show it as white, as does the box)...

Yeah, i just received my shuttle aswell and the first thing that struck me was that the bricks weren't white at all.

Comparing the bricks to wiki color charts (yes, my monitor is calibrated), cream appears to be an accurate description of the actual color of the bricks.

Maybe its a dumb question but have either of you considered how much ambient light in a room affects the way we perceive colour?

Incandescent light sources such as light-bulbs, fires, computer monitors and the sun emit light across a broad spectrum by heating up and glowing. Our eyes adjust accordingly and so what we perceive as off white changes relative to the strength of the local light source. Objects which don't emit light reflect particular frequencies of the electromagnetic spectrum and absorb the rest. They don't tend to change colour 'absolutely', its only our perception of them under different lighting intensities which tend to make us think they do.

In short, try looking at your bricks under different lighting conditions and your eyes will compensate accordingly. The bricks should look less 'creamy' especially in a more natural and indirectly lit environment...

...unless of course all your white bricks really are just plain shit!

[loadinglevelone]

Maybe its a dumb question but have either of you considered how much ambient light in a room affects the way we perceive colour?

Incandescent light sources such as light-bulbs, fires, computer monitors and the sun emit light across a broad spectrum by heating up and glowing. Our eyes adjust accordingly and so what we perceive as off white changes relative to the strength of the local light source. Objects which don't emit light reflect particular frequencies of the electromagnetic spectrum and absorb the rest. They don't tend to change colour 'absolutely', its only our perception of them under different lighting intensities which tend to make us think they do.

In short, try looking at your bricks under different lighting conditions and your eyes will compensate accordingly. The bricks should look less 'creamy' especially in a more natural and indirectly lit environment...

...unless of course all your white bricks really are just plain shit!

Yeah, I've considered that. The brick do look a lot more white under dim indoors lighting.

However, in natural daylight the 'creaminess' increases. Especially when comparing against something that actually is white - like a piece of paper - the bricks looks almost tan.

So, yes the brick are in fact cream in color.

...which brings on the question; is the color intentional? Is the movie-version of the shuttle really cream?

Edited July 7, 2011 by loadinglevelone

[Fallenangel]

...which brings on the question; is the color intentional? It the movie-version of the shuttle really cream?

Looking at the studio model, there do seem to be portions of the ship that exhibit a shade of cream; however, film footage suggests that the Lambda-class was intended to be grayish in hue.

As for whether the bricks themselves were supposed to be cream, I think Aanchir might know something...

[Brickdoctor]

As for whether the bricks themselves were supposed to be cream

Oh, come now, do we have to ask that? I think it's pretty obvious that the bricks are supposed to be white.

[loadinglevelone]

Oh, come now, do we have to ask that? I think it's pretty obvious that the bricks are supposed to be white.

Well, having worked in the production industry for 10 years, I know all about how difficult it is to get white plastics that are actually white.

More so how difficult it is to get white plastics thats durable.

It's all a bit complicated but has to do with the compositions of plastics. Generally yellow white is more durable than pure white plastics.

Durable pure white plastics costs more - so it might just be a cost saving issue.

Then again - the bricks very much might supposed to be cream.